netKar PRO Community Update #6

[Guest Uff]

Nuovo update sullo stato dei lavori da parte di Jaap.

As we come closer to the release of 1.0.3, here is a new Community Update to keep all of you updated on the things going on around the netKar PRO simulator.

Beta testing status

The past 6 months have been filled with loads of beta testing. Release Candidate (RC) 1 was delivered to the beta testing team at the end of June 2008 and updated with a total of 19 updates until RC was brought to the test team in October.

In November, the team tested RC3 which had 3 updates and this month has been focused on testing RC4 which has received 3 updates up to now (the 3rd one was released yesterday).

The great thing is that all major (showstopping) bugs have been tracked and solved. One of the most time consuming activities of the past months has been to solve all the CTD's that we discovered (crash-to-desktop) due to the new code (anti join-lag code, new multiplayer prediction code) in 1.0.3. Making the sim working stable required a lot of time - much more than we anticipated.

However - the great now is that we have a stable working sim. In the past evenings the beta test team has been testing evenings long without any errors. Standings are correct, there is hardly any internet lag, no warping cars - all is stable and that is exactly the primary focus of this release.

There is one bug left that must be fixed before we are going to release and it is a bug which shows car being laggy when you look at them from the TV view.

Actually all 'showstopping' bugs reported by the beta testing team have been processed by Stefano now. Of course there are still a lot 'requests' or minor bugs, but we will not solve all those things... otherwise 1.0.3 will probably never see the light.

What about the Abarth & the Hillclimb?

Both cars will appear in the customer netKar PRO. However, as always said this will happen after 1.0.3 will be released.

If anything, the Abart shows that progress is being made. Behind the scenes, Stefano is also working an evolution of the netKar PRO engine and the first results are incredibly promising (think of 40 Fiat 500 Abarths without LOD's lined up with over 50 FPS).

The goal is still to be bring the Abart and the Hillclimb. How and when will be decided when 1.0.3 is out. The good thing then is that when 1.0.3 is out, we will finally have a stable platform to work on. This means that we can focus on content rather than on 'infrastructure' stuff like performance and multiplayer code (which required a lot of attention during the development phase of 1.0.3).

What now?

The upcoming week will be focused on the 'laggy cars on TV view' bug. It proved to be really hard to find the cause of that bug. We still haven't completely fixed the problem. Let's hope we can find the cause soon.. in most cases finding (rather than fixing) bugs costs most time.

One that bug is gone, I see no reason which could stop the release the new version of netKar PRO.

In the meanwhile, Stefano is preparing the 'final' release package. Most probably RC4 will be the final Release Candidate before the final release. There will probably be one or more updates to RC4, but no more new Release Candidates.

Finally, there will be a nice surprise coming with the release (no, not new content, but surely something which you will enjoy and which will help you and others to get the most out of the sim).

[MaiDireCamber]

Considerazione personale.

Sono stati 6 mesi di intensi test , dove ho potuto ammirare i progressi del sim . Ho avuto alti e bassi , spesso le release non erano come me le aspettavo e mi incazzavo , poi per

[BoNI]

sono d'accordo sul fatto che almeno i bug conosciuti, seppur minori, vadano sistemati... parlo nell'ignoranza, ma credo che essendo minori ( e sto parlando di cagatine, ma cmq fastidiosi) non abbiano bisogno di troppo tempo per essere fixati...

ok, il grosso del lavoro

[Guest Manaos]

fatemi capire, dopo tutto questo tempo verr

[BoNI]

altre parole di Jaap...

My words in the AutoSimSport interview are correct. Currently (RC4 UPD4), demo users are able to drive on all Formula1600 servers on all tracks.

See it as giving something back to everyone out there for the delay. It's a way to allow every to get to know this simulator.

Indeed, for me it would've been enough to open up only Prato, but Stefano decided this way (I will discuss it with him).

Of course, this comes with risks:

1) Risk that everyone will stay demo user forever.

2) Risk that we will have a lot of wreckers on Formula1600 servers.

I think the risks a limited. I'll explain:

Regarding demo users

I think a free demo mode is the best way to attract new people. We are confident that nKP 1.0.3 really will be a great simulator and show this confidence by allowing a free and unlimited multiplayer demo. Given the quality of the sim I think people who will like what they see, will soon pay that (1-time only) 36 euro for this sim.

I have spent 2,5 years in nKP now and have helped it to grow from a very immature to a stable and good sim now (without earning a penny from it). I think this sim, now more than ever, deserves it.

The great thing is that with v1.0.3 everyone can decide for themselves. Having a multiplayer demo was one of the most requested features ever since v1.0.0 and now we'll have it.

Regarding wreckers

I don't think the risk of 'wreckers' is really high in netKar PRO. Of course the risk will be higher than without multiplayer demo, but fact is that nKP is an unique sim in the world of racing games. It attracts its own group of races and I think there will be much less wreckers in it. Besides, driving reverse on the track will not be possible Wrecking at the start will be possible for sure, but on the other hand real-life Formula Ford 1600 races have the odd start crash as well

Really, I don't think the risk will be that high. Also, there is the option of closed races (password protected) or even races with fixed entrylists (only specified drivers can enter the server).

The best thing is that it will bring more people to netKar PRO hopefully. And, it deserves it. I hope that you will share that opinion when it's out.

Yes, I agree with you. In 1.0.2, for me the Formula 1600 and 1800 were very hard to drive. I didn't really recognise them, especially not the Formula 1600. This is also why I hardly ever drove the 1600 - I just didn't have fun with it.

In 1.0.3 this is completely different. The 1600 is what is should be: an easy car (with really limited setup parameters, also compared to the 1800), which is quite easy to drive and to slide with. It's a joy to race it.

The 1800 is different. It's much more powerful and because of the more advanced parameters, harder to drive and to setup. Still better than in 1.0.2 though

[BoNI]

...

[BoNI]

solita fonte..

A rank system is in place already at this moment and it will be extended in the future. As soon as 1.0.3 will be out, I will a 'Monster nKP Rank' which basically means a combination of laps with all cars on all tracks. There are 'car specific' ranks already, so enough to enjoy

Yes. We have managed to fix the bug now. Stefano will now put together a final release package, which will be tested one more time properly.

Please understand that we want to get it out as soon as possible in order to let everyone enjoy it. That has been our intention all the time.

The whole situation and delay was nicely put in words by Stefano today. He said: "For me 1.0.3 was ready 4 months ago. Only when you started testing you showed me the hunderds of major and minor issues."

That's how it is. What we have learned is how complicated software developing can be and how difficult it is to predict when something will be really stable and working properly.

The good thing now is that the 'infrastructure' work is done and the basic package is working properly. This helps in adding new content easier.

Of course we have also found (a lot of) areas where the whole sim can be improved (multiplayer, suspension, physics, graphics, sound), but that's something for the future. The target for 1.0.3 was to make stable what there is, not to add new features. As it is now, the current 1.0.3 version is exactly what the goal was and even some new features slipped in it as we progressed.

[Guest Kimi'84]

kunos ha spiegato a noi tester che un bug minore non

[MaiDireCamber]

Cmq pare che buona parte dei bugghettini stia venendo corretta in questi istanti.

Sperem

Esatto , se dovesse essere cos

[Diablo]

Stefano is also working an evolution of the netKar PRO engine and the first results are incredibly promising (think of 40 Fiat 500 Abarths without LOD's lined up with over 50 FPS).

Posso dire una cosa?

LOL! :fischia:

Mi sembra di rileggere i vecchi diari di bordo dove si diceva che si sarebbe girato in 15 auto senza lag pure con un 56k...

A parte questo non vedo grosse novita' nel post di jaap, dice che ci stanno lavorando, che ci manca poco, che c'e' solo piu' un errorino da correggere e poi verra' rilasciato... Ma son 2 anni che lo dice! Un po di fantasia e inventarsi frasi nuove no eh?

Scusate il post pessimistico ma...